Training cats... like training horses?

[mvp]

[QUOTE=Paks;8339726]
this is one way to do it

https://www.facebook.com/simonscat/posts/10153953321109523[/QUOTE]

Yeah. And did you see the part where Cat-o always had a leg out to brace himself somewhere on the frame of the carrier door? I mean, what if he weighed 1,200 and did that? You have to train a cat.

By the way, I took FosterFluffyCat to the shelter today for a check up and did the old “I have all day; you should choose to go in because time only flows in one direction” technique when we were leaving him. Fine, no problem, Cat believes she chose the Least Worst of all the options available at that moment.

Then, on the counter at the shelter when work was being done on her and we paused, she saw the opportunity to go back into the carrier. Yes indeedy, all of a sudden, that seemed like a better place to be.

Maybe that’s the awful, coercive technique: Let the cat feel freedom and ownership of having chosen the Least Worst of the Bad.

[Paks]

Actually in 50 years I’ve never had a problem getting a cat into carrier. It really has a lot to do with the relationship you have with your cat. And not making the carrier an evil place. I did have a small problem getting a barn cat in a feed bin till he saw the mouse I wanted him to get. Then it was no problem.

[sascha]

There’s more to catherding than teaching them to self crate. You know you’re going in the right direction with your mouse stick and invisible rope harness when you can take your horse into a field, park it near cathead, tell cathead to jump on the fence, and then have cathead climb on your shoulder for a ride back to the barn at Cat Curfew.

Sure it would be better to whistle and have that cat gallop to the barn all on his own, but then how would you teach your horse the finer points of catherding? And by finer points, I mean hanging out for minutes on end waiting for cat to finally respond to its name. It takes quite a horse to just stand there while a cat rustles through long grass after some tiny victim or other. Really it’s a symbiotic training relationship. They train each other.

^
True story. Happened last night I only wish there’d been another boarder around to take a picture of me and my mare rounding up the stray cathead. It would have been gorgeous against the amazing red sky As it was, I hauled his ass up to the barn (picture a stray lamb being carried with one set of legs on one side of the hand’s shoulders and the other set on the other), called the BO to the barn door and handed him off to be shut in safely for the night.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=Paks;8340703]
Actually in 50 years I’ve never had a problem getting a cat into carrier. It really has a lot to do with the relationship you have with your cat. And not making the carrier an evil place. I did have a small problem getting a barn cat in a feed bin till he saw the mouse I wanted him to get. Then it was no problem.[/QUOTE]

How do you get around the Ugly Truth that a cat carrier also is a pre-cursor to a road trip.

It’s like telling a really bad sinner to not worry about Purgatory.

[aurora171989]

[QUOTE=mvp;8341403]
How do you get around the Ugly Truth that a cat carrier also is a pre-cursor to a road trip.

It’s like telling a really bad sinner to not worry about Purgatory.[/QUOTE]

see my post earlier in the thread, wanted to add after the cat is used to the carrier and is easily put into it, one doesn’t have to practice a whole lot even after weeks or months of no practice, cat is still easily put into the carrier.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=aurora171989;8341411]
see my post earlier in the thread, wanted to add after the cat is used to the carrier and is easily put into it, one doesn’t have to practice a whole lot even after weeks or months of no practice, cat is still easily put into the carrier.[/QUOTE]

I guess I missed it.

So the general idea is that CatHead Crates Up so often that he has a huge sample size… and only a few of those end in a road trip and a vet?

Speaking of which, we should expand this discussion to include Teaching A Cat To Road Trip (and generally be an American). I used to take a pretty decent road tripping cat of mine on errands, just to give him that large sample size of car experiences mentioned above.

[aurora171989]

That’s the idea

With car trips, I’ve heard that cats get car sick. Even if they don’t throw up they may still feel sick.

[Paks]

[QUOTE=mvp;8341403]
How do you get around the Ugly Truth that a cat carrier also is a pre-cursor to a road trip.

It’s like telling a really bad sinner to not worry about Purgatory.[/QUOTE]

Simple. Cat carriers also make great eating places the dog can’t get into the food. Comfy places from which to stage attacks during play. Fun to jump up on. Have it out for when the cat wants it not just for when you need it for the vet. If only 1% of the carrier use is to go to the vet the cat doesn’t make the association that carrier means vet.

Then of course make sure the vet actually knows how to handle a cat and make it relaxed. I have one that uses feliway. Lets the cat get relaxed before the exam, plus I bring treats and toys for the Vet visit. I even have a few cat games on my iPad for them to play while in the room. No reason they can’t have fun while in the exam room.

However if you have a cat that is totally freaked by the carrier there is always this technique. http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/treetop-cat-rescue/treetop-cat-rescue-videos/this-rescue-is-no-piece-of-cake/ Look at how he holds the front legs when putting an extremely reluctant cat in the carry bag.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=sascha;8341397]
There’s more to catherding than teaching them to self crate. You know you’re going in the right direction with your mouse stick and invisible rope harness when you can take your horse into a field, park it near cathead, tell cathead to jump on the fence, and then have cathead climb on your shoulder for a ride back to the barn at Cat Curfew.

Sure it would be better to whistle and have that cat gallop to the barn all on his own, but then how would you teach your horse the finer points of catherding? And by finer points, I mean hanging out for minutes on end waiting for cat to finally respond to its name. It takes quite a horse to just stand there while a cat rustles through long grass after some tiny victim or other. Really it’s a symbiotic training relationship. They train each other.

^
True story. Happened last night I only wish there’d been another boarder around to take a picture of me and my mare rounding up the stray cathead. It would have been gorgeous against the amazing red sky As it was, I hauled his ass up to the barn (picture a stray lamb being carried with one set of legs on one side of the hand’s shoulders and the other set on the other), called the BO to the barn door and handed him off to be shut in safely for the night.[/QUOTE]

Bringin’ in the CatHead from the range! That’s awesome.

So at the end… were you wearing him like a stole or a furry and heavy life jacket… his belly on the back of your neck and front legs coming down one side of your chest, hind set on the other? Or some other position?

You know, if you had to ride that way for hours, all Draped In Cat, I think that could hurt your neck… Like some 20-pounder brought in from some huge place in Texas.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=Paks;8341514]
Simple. Cat carriers also make great eating places the dog can’t get into the food. Comfy places from which to stage attacks during play. Fun to jump up on. Have it out for when the cat wants it not just for when you need it for the vet.[/QUOTE]

So a Kreep Pheeder Fo Da Katz, right?

With a sign that says, “Cat Fud” in a clever Gary Larson/The Far Side reference that most cats know.

[spotted_draft_x_fill]

Mine like crates. We started putting them in crates at night to prevent them from turning the kitchen upside down and tormenting the bird. We also put a little bowl of food in there too. Now when we get ready to go to bed, they’re by the crate meowing, waiting to be picked up so they can go in the crate.

My male cat was never bothered by crates. He would go in them on his own, sometimes sleeps with the dogs in their crates, and a couple of times both cats had kicked the big dog out of her crate so they could sleep on her orthopedic bed.

If you make it a non event, it makes everything go more smoothly.

[sascha]

[QUOTE=mvp;8341671]
Bringin’ in the CatHead from the range! That’s awesome.

So at the end… were you wearing him like a stole or a furry and heavy life jacket… his belly on the back of your neck and front legs coming down one side of your chest, hind set on the other? Or some other position?

You know, if you had to ride that way for hours, all Draped In Cat, I think that could hurt your neck… Like some 20-pounder brought in from some huge place in Texas.[/QUOTE]

He makes a lovely if awkwardly fashionable stole.

I think for working with Texas 20 pounders all day on the range, you’d need a helmet modification to give cathead more belleh room. Maybe an ergonomic shoulder yoke device for the handler too so that you could avoid doing turtle head for long periods.

[North_Dakota]

I have what I consider the best cat carrier ever. It’s really big, solid, they can see out the sides but instead of the door being on the side the whole lid opens. Open lid, pop cat in the carrier and close the lid.

My kitten does howl about how dare I restrain her when the lid is closed, since she does enjoy using it to sit in and attack people walking past when I have it out.